A Fun and Busy Past Few Days

Well, this past weekend was definitely a fun one!

Friday, I went to the costume parade at Amelia's daycare. I don't have any GREAT photos from it, but here are a couple just for posterity's sake.



Not to pass the blame on to someone else for my bad photos, but see that guy's half rear end in the above photo? He would NOT move out of my way so I could get a good photo from any distance away. Oh well.

Anyway, right after that, I went to my old school to watch the theatre students compete in the Regional One Act Competition with their performance of Sweeney Todd. Oh my goodness, it was so good! I was able to see some of my former students while the judges were deliberating (and our school won!!), and afterwards, I was able to visit with some of my former colleagues. It was a fun way to spend the day.

Saturday was Darryl's 40TH birthday! We had doughnuts for breakfast, and then Amelia and I went to a birthday party for her friend Sophia. Darryl's "plan" was to go home to get ready for a day of football watching. Well, around noon, Darryl a message to me that said, "32 white?" I was like, "What on earth are you talking about?" Turns out that the entire time I was at the party, he had been standing in line to get me a new phone!

Now, while some of you might be thinking, "Wow, that was really sweet of Darryl to stand in line for two hours on his birthday to buy Amy a new phone," let me assure you that he will NEVER let me forget about it. :-) (Actually, it was very sweet of him. My old phone was s-l-o-w, and our service needed to be changed because I could barely get a signal in our house. Not good when we no longer have a land line.)

That afternoon, we had birthday cake and opened a few gifts.


That evening, we went to Bonefish Grill (yum!) and came home. Darryl stayed up late watching some good football (anyone see that Georgia Tech win? what a fun game!), so he was happy. :-)

Sunday I stayed home from church (gasp!) so I could bake some cupcakes for my friend Blayne's Halloween dinner.

On the left is a pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese frosting. On the right is a yellow cake with chocolate buttercream frosting. Both were delicious if I do say so myself!

(Just to add to my baking accomplishments for the weekend...I also baked Darryl's birthday cake, which was an upside-down German chocolate cake. Not as pretty, but definitely good!)


Sunday evening, we went to Blayne's dinner that I mentioned before. Here are a couple of shots of Amelia in her Rapunzel costume. She wasn't too keen on looking at the camera in the first one. But tell me, folks, have you ever seen a cuter Rapunzel????



And here's a photo (taken with my phone in poor lighting) of me, Mary (on the left) and Blayne (in the middle).


Not a bad way to spend the weekend, huh? I also have some fun things on the agenda for this week, too. I'm looking forward to it!

HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY, DARRYL!!

Today is Darryl's 40th birthday!!!! Happy Birthday, Darryl!

Amelia and I love him to pieces. He is hands down the best husband ever, and he's such a great father for Amelia. We don't have any big party plans (primarily because Darryl would HATE that), but we hope he has a wonderful day today!

We love you, Mr. Incredible!!

Out of Sorts, But...

Last weekend I was, as my friend Blayne diagnosed, "out of sorts."

I wanted to go somewhere, but I wanted to stay home. I wanted to see my friends, but I wanted to be by myself. I was discontent, sad, and probably not a joy to be around. (Darryl is probably nodding enthusiastically with that last one.)

This week has been better, though, and there is some fun in store for the next few days--Halloween parties, good times with friends, and trick or treating. As a plus, I'm also going to get my "baking on" and make some treats for some things. I cannot wait!

Also, Saturday is DARRYL'S 40TH BIRTHDAY.

Yep, birthday season at our house officially kicks off with Darryl. Then it's mine. Then Amelia's. Then my mom's. Then my cousin's. And as Amelia would say, "What's next?"

All of this should give me some good blog material, yes?

Talking About TV--A List

Not a whole lot is going on over here in my neck of the woods, so how about a little TV talk?

I think I have Adult Onset ADD because not only do I not have the attention span to watch an entire TV show, but I also do not have the ability to form more than a list, so a list is what you will get, my friends.

1. Glee is off my viewing list. The first episode was dumb. Buh-bye.

2. Is anybody watching The Biggest Loser? I just got into this season after catching up on my DVR. I love Trainer Bob. And last night I watched while eating some cookie dough ice cream, an act that seemed so, so wrong.

3. I'm almost caught up on Mad Men. Y'all, that show is PERFECTION, which might be why I absolutely cannot tolerate Glee anymore. Because Glee? It is the opposite of perfection.

4. Modern Family is the best comedy on TV right now. Anyone want to dispute that?

5. Grey's Anatomy and I aren't mad at each other anymore. The first episode was abysmal, but the others since have been tolerable. My fuse is short, though, so they better watch out.

6. I've been watching Friends re-runs in the afternoons while I cook dinner. Ah, Friends. So good.

7. Y'all, I was watching TV at the gym the other day (that's right! The GYM!), and I saw this commercial and was appalled. APPALLED. What do you think?



Is that not the grossest thing you've ever seen?!?!

8. I'm sorry. I can barely form words after that.

Two Unrelated Things Worth Sharing

First, I tried this Alton Brown pork chop recipe Monday night and it was delicious. Darryl even commented that it was good without my having to ask. (Our usual routine routine when I try a new recipe is that I have to ASK if he likes it, and if he says yes, I ask if he would eat it again. Ha!)

Two things about the recipe, though--it is VERY black peppery. I like it, but if you are not a black pepper fan, you might cut back on the pepper. Also, it is a little involved for a slow cooker recipe. It's not a "throw everything in the crockpot and turn it on" kind of recipe. But I will definitely make it again. (I also used thick pork chops, and they were the perfect choice for this recipe.

Okay, the other thing I have to share is a YouTube video. :-) I'm not really one to browse YouTube for funny things, but my mom and I watched this Family Feud clip that someone posted on her Facebook the other day, and we both thought it was hilarious. Enjoy!

Grandparents and the Pumpkin Patch

Last week, my parents came up to spend a few days with us. While it was dreary weather for much of the time, we were at least able to get out for some fall fun on Wednesday.

One of my favorite things to do this time of year is to go to Burt's Pumpkin Patch, and it gets more and more fun to take Amelia each year. Here are some photos:











We had a great time!!!

Pageant Judging!

First, I must say I didn't plan to take a full week off from the blog, but I was tired from my weekend of pageant judging (yes, pageant judging), and then my parents came to town for a few days. So, it's time to do some catching up...

Last weekend, I had the privilege of judging the Miss UG@ pageant in Athens.

Let me hit the "pause" button now to explain how I was even involved in this to begin with. First, I have been a LONGTIME fan of the Miss America pageant. Seriously, I've watched it every year ever since I can remember. (Also...I'm not a fan of pageants that just focus on beauty alone. The Miss America Organization, however, focuses more on personality, intelligence, and talent. "Appearance" categories like Evening Gown and Physical Fitness are given lesser weight in the score than Interview and Talent. That being said, I've never seen an ugly Miss America.)

Let's have a moment to pay respect to my favorite Miss America talent EVER:




Wait, I got distracted. Back to how I came to be a judge at this pageant...My friend Tim has been involved in the Miss America pageant system for some time--as a judge, field director, coach, etc. We go to the Miss Cobb pageant every year. Several times I have told him--somewhat seriously, somewhat jokingly--that if an opportunity ever came along for me to judge a pageant, I would totally do it. Several weeks ago, he asked if I would want to judge this particular one. I JUMPED on that opportunity in a half-second. And y'all, it was so fun!

First, I will say that this pageant was extremely competitive. These girls were eloquent, fun, beautiful, and talented. We did interviews on Friday, and I was blown away by how well these young women handled questions about everything from current issues to lighter topics. And the pageant itself on Saturday evening proved to be a very entertaining event. Choosing a "winner" was definitely not an easy task, but I think the young woman who won will represent the school well at the state pageant...and dare we hope she might represent our state at Miss America???? :-)

Other perks of the weekend included staying in a hotel room for two nights (I think every mom out there can appreciate the perk of staying ALONE in a hotel for two nights--no offense to my family, whom I love dearly), eating some delicious food in some very nice restaurants in Athens, being chauffeured from one place to another, and spending time with friends. (I knew two of the other judges--and they are both people I adore--so spending time with them was a treat.) I also have to say that the pageant officials who guided us through this whole process were amazingly nice and hospitable.

As soon as it was over, I told Tim to find me another pageant to judge, ASAP!

Here are some pics from the event:

Here I am with my friends Tim and Max (Max was a judge at this event as well):



Here I am with Tim and Ms. C, who also judged the event. (The three of us used to teach together. Mrs. C retired a year and a half ago, and it was SO good to see her again. She is the kind of woman I would want to by my aunt. You know, the kind who would take to you nice restaurants and to get your ears pierced.)


And last, but not least, here I am with the winner! Beautiful, talented, charismatic...I can't wait to see how she does in future competitions. (My only regret with this photo is that she is about half my size.)

So there you have it. The weekend was truly a wonderful one, and I hope I have the opportunity to do something like this again!

Another Eyebrow Waxing Adventure

You might remember my last eyebrow waxing appointment where the lady FLIPPED OUT over my dry skin and suggested the $89 face cream.

Well, this time was an adventure as well.

I didn't go to my usual waxing place (site of the $89 face cream). Instead, I decided to try the mini-spa at the gym because I could leave Amelia at the childcare area. For some reason, I'm thinking young children are not welcome visitors at soothing spas.

(Also, time was of the essence because I needed my brows waxed for an event this weekend that I will tell you about Monday.)

So back to the story...

I went in the little room with the table, and the lady told me to take off my clothes from the waist up and put on a little towel wrap because she would be massaging my shoulders and arms. And then she left the room.

Well, I was like, "Sweet! I am totally getting my brows waxed here from now on!" And I did what she asked.

She came back in and said, "Have you ever had a facial before?"

I replied that I had, but then I said, "But today I just need a brow wax."

She looked at her schedule sheet, then looked at me, and said, "Oh! I read this wrong. You ARE just here for a brow wax! Didn't you think it was weird that I made you take off those clothes?"

"Well, yeah...but I have never been here before so I just went with it!"

Then we both died laughing, and I proceeded to have my brows waxed while wearing a towel wrap.

And I was totally bummed that I wasn't getting that shoulder and arm massage after all.

Vision

One of my favorite things at Walt Disney World is this statue:


I get goosebumps when I look at that statue because it makes me think of Walt Disney's dream. When we were at Walt Disney World last month, I watched kids smiling, employees warmly welcoming each person into the parks, parents hugging their kids, people laughing, burly men wearing Mickey Mouse ears, little girls wearing princess dresses, and I realized that all of that is possible because of one man's vision.

Last night I didn't bother turning on my TV, but when I checked Twitter, almost every new "tweet" was about the death of Steve Jobs. While it was obvious that his health was rapidly declining and this news shouldn't have been a shock to us, it was evident that it was news that was felt by everyone.

I'm not going to pretend to be a Steve Jobs expert, because I'm not. When I think of him, I think of the man--clad in his jeans and black turtleneck--who always unveiled the latest and greatest Apple product.



But here is what I do know. I get up every morning and read blogs and news on my Macbook. I take my iPhone with me everywhere I go. I love the flexibility of my iPad (and have watched every episode of the first three seasons of Mad Men on it). I plug my iPod into my car stereo and listen to it instead of the radio most of the time. Apple products have changed my everyday life.

And I'm just one of millions who can say the same. And it is all because of a man who had a vision.

We are a country that (unfortunately) puts people like the Kardashians, Kate Gosselin, and the cast of Jersey Shore on the covers of our magazines, but today I'm glad that kind of celebrity is being put aside to pay respect to a bespectacled man with thinning gray hair whose vision transformed our world.

Mastering the Swirl

Brace yourself. This post is going to be riveting. RIVETING.

Amelia says she wants cupcakes for her birthday, and I think I'm going to bake them. All I have to do is master the swirl of icing on the top, and I'm good to go. (I'm using cupcake toppers, so I don't have to write anything on them.)

This was the first attempt the other night.

I think for my first time using a decorator's tip, that isn't half bad. (That isn't even the right tip. I had to make do with what I had.)

They also tasted pretty good, if I do say so myself.

But.

You know what happened with the majority of these cupcakes (and by majority, I mean 18 of the 24)? They all fell on the floor when my cupcake carrier failed on me.

So sad.

(Also, I am fascinated/obsessed with Wilton's message boards. I am NOT going to start decorating cakes, but it is funny to see a subject line like, "Can anyone help me make a butt cake?")

(I think I need to get out more.)

What a Little Sleep Will Do

Well.

I really channeled the spirit of Debbie Downer yesterday, didn't I?

Truth be told, the weekend DID have its ups and downs, but I think my lack of sleep exaggerated things a bit for me.

I'm a light sleeper. When you are the "adult in charge," that is both a blessing and a curse. All fourteen of us were in one cabin / one room. I was very aware of every coming and going from that room. (There was a great room area that some of them would go to when they wanted to hang out.) As a parent, I hope Amelia has a light sleeper as her chaperone one day. :-)

It also means, though, that I woke up to every cough, snore, giggle, etc.

So yeah, after two nights of that, I wasn't the most positive person in the world.

But look at these girls. Are they not the cutest group of 9th grade girls you've ever seen? I did NOT look like this when I was in 9th grade, I assure you.

I am definitely looking forward to getting to know these girls even better over the next four years.

Keeping it Real

I'm in a semi-funk at the moment, probably not helped by my extremely sleep-deprived state.

This past weekend, I went with my 9th grade girls I lead at church to a high school retreat in the North Georgia mountains. If I could give you a visual of what this weekend was like for me (and our group), it would look like this:

Or perhaps this...


Let's just say there were lots of ups and downs.

I don't want to say a whole lot on here about this group because I feel like it is "writing behind their back," hahaha, but leading this group is tough. However, it can be--and I think it WILL be--a rewarding kind of tough. Like motherhood. I would be discouraged about something this weekend, but then we would have an encouraging breakthrough, and then it would go downhill again. Unfortunately, we left on kind of a down note, and I fought back tears as I drove away from the camp. Then I got a text from one of the girls when I got home, and it completely lifted my spirits. Just now I saw something on Facebook that bothered me. Downhill. Uphill. Downhill. Uphill. Downhill. It's exhausting.

Then the transition back to motherhood when I got home was a bit rocky as well. Darryl had taken Amelia to a birthday party, and I relieved him from that as soon as I got home so he could go to work for a while. Well, Amelia proceeded to have a pee-pee accident of gallon proportions at the party. I had no extra clothes for her, but a kind, dear angel (the mother of the birthday girl) was completely awesome and handed me a bag with wipes, clean underwear, and an outfit so adorable I wish I could keep it and told me I could use those. Bless her, bless her, bless her. (And seriously, I had to fight back tears because of her niceness.)

(And note to self: Pack extra clothes in the car.)

Then at some point last evening, Amelia accidentally sent a cup of chocolate milk FLYING across the kitchen, and it went everywhere. Amelia even said, "Whoa! That's a lot of milk, Momma."

And FYI...I did finally cry at one point. And it gave me a headache. And then I let the TV, in the form of Toy Story, babysit my child so I could take a nap. It helped, but I'm still completely drained.

Just keeping it real, folks.

A Little Disney for You

So, as I've mentioned a few times, we went to Disney World a few weeks ago and had a wonderful time.

I'm not going to give a play by play because I don't have the desire to do it, and I'm not sure you really want to read it all. I'm going to let photos do most of the talking for me. I'll give you a little background first:

We flew to Orlando (on Darryl's air miles) the Sunday of Labor Day weekend and came back the following Saturday. It really was a great time to go. Sunday, after we arrived at the hotel and got settled, we decided to go to the Magic Kingdom for a while. It was PACKED. We figured it would be, though, because of the holiday weekend, so we just dealt with it. The rest of the week, however, was pretty ideal in terms of crowds, line waits, and so forth.

We did all four parks -- Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. I think the Magic Kingdom is our favorite by far, but probably because it has more rides and things that all of us could enjoy.

Here are some photos, really in no particular order.

This is the night we went to dinner in Cinderella's Castle. Yes, I have on Minnie Mouse ears. Don't hate. (Also, those ears might have helped distract from the horrible hair day I was experiencing. At least I fooled myself into believing that.)

Amelia is standing in front of the Tree of Life at the Animal Kingdom.

Look! Amelia can also hold up the EPCOT golf ball. Impressive, yes? (By the way...the ride inside that ball, Spaceship Earth, was one of Amelia's favorite rides. We rode it at least three times.)

Amelia and, obviously, Cinderella. Can you stand the cuteness??

Here we are at Chef Mickey's, which was lots of fun.

Hanging out with Cars at Hollywood Studios.

Amelia and Tinkerbell!

I love this photo of Amelia and Princess Tiana.

Look, Rapunzel is THE princess to see right now. We made several attempts to see her and finally did on Friday. (And even though we made a beeline to her location, there were still about 20 people in front of us.)

I adore this photo of Amelia and Mickey.

Random Stuff--In List Form

1. Today is the last day of my teaching gig. It really hasn't been too bad. The worst part (besides getting up at 4:20, yes, 4:20, in the morning) has been teaching the same class five times. Monotonous? Yes.

2. I realize I still need to do a Disney post. I just haven't had the energy while I've been teaching. Maybe it will develop later this week. I also want to strike the fine balance between keeping it succinct enough not to bore those who don't give a rip and making it thorough enough to satisfy the grandparents.

3. I am obsessed, and by obsessed, I mean I want to watch this show every time I have a spare minute to do so, with...


Seriously, I cannot stop watching this show. I started watching it on Netflix, and I am almost at the end of Season 3. I need to just go ahead and finish up the series (before the fifth season begins in 2012) so that I can move on with my life.

4. Amelia went to her first birthday party for one of the friends at her "new school." We had a great time, and I enjoyed getting to know some of the moms. It definitely was not as awkward as I thought it would be.

5. Speaking of birthday parties, Amelia has decided she wants a Toy Story party for hers. I was a little bummed because I was hoping we would be throwing an all-too-sweet princess party, but after looking around at some stuff online (and realizing it's not my party, so it isn't all about me), I'm getting pumped about the Toy Story theme. (And I failed to realize what all the fuss was about Pinterest until I started finding some cute pics. Now I've gotta say that I LOVE Pinterest.)

6. Back to TV...I have boldly decided not to watch Dancing with the Stars this go-around. I want to say, for the record, that I don't mind Ch@z being on the show at all (just wanted to separate myself from the nuts who are sending him death threats), but the cast is just kind of unappealing as a whole. And Grey's Anatomy (who began the season with the most.....drawn....out....premier....ever) is on my list. It has a couple of episodes to shape up, or it's outta here. And Glee...you better watch your back as well.

7. This list was riveting, yes?

The Blog Forecast for This Week

I'm not sure how much I'll blog this week since I'm doing this "teaching gig" all week. Getting up at 4:30 a.m. takes a toll, y'all.

We had a good weekend, filled with hanging out, eating good food, and watching football.

And now I'm tired.

Back

A few days ago, my friend/former colleague Tim contacted me to see if I would be interested in teaching some Graduation Writing Test review sessions at the school where I used to teach for the next week and a half or so. I took him up on the offer, and yesterday was my first day back for this little stint of teaching.

It's a pretty sweet gig, actually. I'm in a conference room that has windows on two sides overlooking the football field. I have five groups of about eight students each. All the lessons have been planned, and there is no grading.

And I get to see my old work friends.

But I've gotta be honest: 4:30 hit me HARD this morning. And "real" shoes. My toes hurt so badly at the end of the day.

It was a good day, though. I had a day full of hugs and "glad to see yous" from former colleagues and students.

It felt good to be back for a while.

For Darryl's Co-Workers

A few of Darryl's co-workers read my blog -- primarily, I think, for material they can use to harass Darryl with. For example, when I posted the story a few weeks ago about Mr. Longface, Darryl arrived at his desk only to find a photo of Mr. Longface hanging on his wall. :-)

Darryl said they were tired of reading about scrapbooking...they wanted more Darryl material.

Well, gentlemen, your wait is over, and your patience is about to be rewarded. I present to you Mr. Incredible:



You're welcome.

Last Week...Disney World!!

Last week, the three of us went to Disney World.

And frankly, I'm still so Disneyed out that I don't even think I can form a coherent thought about the trip. The thought of blogging about it in detail exhausts me.

We had a great time, though. Amelia is at the age where she thinks that everything is real. Every time we rode a ride that involved space (like the ride in the giant golf ball at EPCOT), she thought we were really going to Outer Space. ("Mom, we just went to Outer Space!!") On the Peter Pan ride at the Magic Kingdom, she thought that we were really flying in a pirate ship.

How fun is that???

And, of course, she was all about the princesses because, as you can probably guess, she thinks they are really princesses.

I'll share a few things this week about the trip this week along with a few photos here and there. Bear with me, though, while I'm still in recovery mode. :-)

Like Everyone Else

I realize I dropped off the face of the blog world last week, but I'll write more about that tomorrow.

For now, I want to talk -- briefly -- about yesterday.

I started to write something about 9/11 yesterday, but I decided against it. Mainly because I don't really know what to say about it that hasn't already been said more eloquently than I could say it.

I don't think my memories of that day are particularly unique from everyone else's.

Like everyone else, I can remember where I was when "it" happened.

Like everyone else, I can remember my feelings of overwhelming sadness, fear, anger, and loss combined with a sense of unity and of pride in my country.

Like everyone else, I can remember American flags being flown from front porches.

Like everyone else, I was glued to the news for days afterward.

Like everyone else, I was humbled and inspired by tales of bravery and heroism in the face of unexplainable tragedy.

As I watched the ceremony unfold from Ground Zero yesterday, the magnitude of 9/11/01 seemed as great as ever, but so did the fortitude of the American spirit.


(If you are interested, our church showed this video yesterday.)

Why I Scrapbook

I know, I know...you are OVER the scrapbooking thing I have going on this week. I get it. But it's my blog, and this is what's on my mind this week...

I get some flack for being a "scrapbooker." Good-natured flack, but flack, nonetheless. I know before I started scrapbooking, I thought that the people who did it were older women who wore sweaters with images of horses or cats stitched into them, and they sat around with their like-minded friends and they all scrapbooked photos of their cats.

And then I started meeting people who were self-proclaimed scrapbookers, and they were closer to my age and pretty "with it," and my image of scrapbookers started to change.

Now the cool/hip factor really has nothing to do with why I scrapbook, but it did change my perception of scrapbooking and the people who do it. (For the record, some scrapbookers are TOTALLY what I originally pictured...but they are a minority, I would say.)

So back to why I scrapbook...

When Amelia was about seven months old, she was crawling around in our then guest-room-converted-to-a-playroom. There was this thing she would always do...she would make a beeline across the carpeted room to the threshold that led to the hardwood floor of the hallway. Once she reached the hardwood floor, she would turn around, sit down, and laugh, like "Ha ha! I escaped! Try to catch me now!" and she would crawl on.

I remember watching her and thinking, "I never ever want to forget that."

But I realized that if I didn't write it down and record it in some way, I would forget. And then I realized that her life was going to be series of things I wouldn't want to forget, and that if I didn't write them down, I wouldn't remember them.

And while Amelia started out as the motivation for my scrapbooks, over time, scrapbooking has become more about "our" story as a family. I know that many people -- like me -- began scrapbooking when they had kids, but man...what I wouldn't give for an album that chronicled the first few years of our marriage, just to see how far we have come from those days. A Project Life album from 1999? THAT would be a treasure, my friends. :-) The trips, the friends, the routines, the clothes, our tiny 3rd-floor apartment...sure, I have photos and souvenirs and such, but I'd love to have it "recorded," you know?

This past weekend, Heidi Swapp made this remark in her keynote speech, and it has really stuck with me:

"If no one remembers it, it is like it never happened."

That one sentence completely embodies why I now record the details of our lives. True, we can't record EVERYTHING. Nor do we want to remember everything. But the little moments that make up the story of our lives, I want to remember a lot of it.